


A New Region, A New Beginning

by EverGrowingEverChanging



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27225844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverGrowingEverChanging/pseuds/EverGrowingEverChanging
Summary: Sueko desperately needed a change of scenery and pace, wasn't going to be making anything of herself in her current situation. Packed bags, plane tickets, lots of money spent and hours spent until finally, she found herself in a completely different region, Galar.And perfect timing too. The Gym Challenge is right around the corner, perhaps that's what she needs.
Kudos: 4





	1. Jet Lagged, Yet Impatient

**Author's Note:**

> Fair Warning- There will be pokemon here that you either wouldn't find in these areas or even in the game entirely. I will try to keep it close to the actual game but I will be going off or fuging some things here and there. Also, curse words cus well... sometimes you cant really say anything except 'what the fuck' in a situation.

"Punny~!"

"Hey, wait up!" Not all but some people and pokemon turned to stare at the source of the sudden shouting. A lopunny was bouncing down the street, a wide excited grin on her face and tail happily wagging, while a female trainer chased after the rabbit pokemon. The trainer was nearly bumping and running into people and pokemon left and right, quickly apologizing each and every time. At one point, she spun around a bit too fast to avoid another trainer and nearly face planted. A rough day.

Finally though, she caught up with the normal type pokemon, only because the Lopunny had come to a stop... kind of. She was far from standing still, just bouncing on her feet and twirling around one way and then the other, over and over again. The trainer panted, hands on her knees and back hunched over a bit, her cheeks red from both embarrassment and from being out of breath. She needed to get into shape.

"Una, I know you're excited but you cant just go running off like that. You're a lot faster now and I'm not as young as I used to be." The trainer, Sueko, pointed out. She only got a huff and puffed out cheeks as a response though. Her pokemon even sticking out their own tongue at her before gesturing to the building before them. With a small sigh, she dragged a hand over her face before resting it against her hip and took a look at the building that had captured her pokemon's attention so much that she was willing to run off for it.

"... _Really?_ You... you had me chasing you for a couple of blocks, for a cafe?" She honestly wasn't even mad at this point, just exhausted though maybe a bit annoyed as well. "Una, please, we cant. We have so many things to unpack still and the plane... the train... and... and you're just dragging me." She mumbled, her eyes lingering at her own wrist, the rabbit's hand clasped tightly around it, before she shut her eyes closed and shook her head. She wasn't even fighting it, just letting herself be dragged in by the excited rabbit pokemon, who quickly picked an empty table and pulled her own trainer onto the chair. Una even pushed the seat in a bit before bounding over to the seat right across, her legs kicking playfully and hands on her cheeks, smiling at her trainer. The look.

With a groan, Sueko looked up from the hole she was staring into the table, only to sigh and grin a little. Even let out a soft chuckle as her pokemon lightly poked and pushed at her shoulder. "Alright alright, I get it. I'm being a grumpy grouch. We both had a long trip from Unova to Galar... so perhaps some food will do us some good. But after this, I want to go back and rest, ok?"

"Bun bun!" Una nodded and even held up her little hand in the 'I swear' gesture.

Honestly it was just really hard to stay annoyed or mad at her pokemon. Pushing herself up from the table, Sueko told Una to stay at the table while she went to the counter and ordered some food and drinks for them both.

\------------------------------

As the pair ate, things were mostly silent between them but every so often Sueko would pipe up with something. A comment or a mention of a past event for the two to remember and reminisce on. However, the conversation and giggling (and whatever you would call the sounds that a lopunny makes) would soon die down once one of the employees turned the volume up on the TV. On the screen was a man, with a bit of a belly, wearing a rather nice suit with part of his hair shaved and the rest flipped over the side. As well as... an interesting style of facial hair.

_"Now turn your gaze to the Galar region's greatest pokemon trainer, your undefeated Champion... It's time for Champion Leon's exhibition match!"_

Now that actually caught the trainer's attention, including her pokemon too. Resting an elbow on the table, chin on the back of her hand, Sueko arched an eyebrow and tilted her head a bit, Una practically mirroring her as they both stared at the screen. A small series of fireworks go off on the ground, creating a small smokescreen until a man appears from it, wearing a cape with a Charizard behind him. Then on the other side of him was another man, taller but in a hoodie with... a pokemon she didn't recognize beside him. Champion Leon and Dragon type Gym Leader Raihan...

As the two battled it out, Sueko couldn't help but just feel herself get sucked into the battle, leaning forward, feeling her heart race, trying to guess what would happen next and who would win. At some point, she stole a glance over at her pokemon partner, only to see that Una was much the same, though maybe a bit more open about it. Her tail was wagging, hands closed in front of her, her body just wiggling with excitement and pent up energy. But all good things must come to end, and with a battle there must be a victor. Looks like for now, the undefeated champ was gonna stay that way but now Sueko had something to look into a bit once back at the flat.

Neither Una nor Sueko came to Galar with the intent of entering the gym challenge or even battling in general but... but perhaps a change of plans wouldn't hurt too much.


	2. Endorsement Letter?

"I need an endorsement letter?! What?! Did they require this back in Unova?" Sueko looked away from her laptop and turned her attention to her partner pokemon, Una, who simply just shook her head. With a groan, Sueko ran a hand through her hair and shook her head as well. "Why am I asking that, of course you didn't! It was Unova, they practically handed out pokemon to just about anyone. There were literal toddlers with pokemon that challenged you... So... now what?"

It was only the day after, still plenty of boxes needed to be unpacked but the place was starting to look more and more livable. Una tilted her head one way and then other in thought before snapping her fingers and bounced off somewhere. There was some rummaging sounds before she came back with a slip of paper and handed it to Sueko, who instantly knew what was on it.

"No, no way. I am NOT calling them. I already bugged them enough to help us move out in the first place..." She crossed her arms and huffed a bit, but her eyes slowly drifted back to her laptop screen. She just needed an endorsement letter and then she could enter the gym challenge but... is that something that she can really do? Una moved in front of the screen and held the slip of paper out in front of her, getting up in Sueko's face, even waving and flapping the paper a bit. After a long moment, the trainer just sighed and took the paper.

"Alright alright, you win. I'll call her." Una bounced about happily and made a few happy sounds before plopping down on the couch, looking rather giddy. Sueko chuckled a bit at the pokemon's excitement before, reluctantly, putting the number in the phone and letting it dial.

...

"H-hey Aunty Angi, how are you?"

"...Is there something wrong with the place or are you already having second guesses and want to come back?"

"What? No no, the place is fine, great even... its just-"

"Just what?"

"...I um... I know that you used to live in Galar, hence the recommendation..."

"Yeah? Kid, just spit it out already. You need another favor?"

"I... Yeah, please. I... Una and I want to try the Gym Challenge but we need an endorsement letter and well... you used tell us many stories of you being a great trainer here so I figured that maybe you could give us one?"

"... _Really_? You really want to start battling _now?"_

"...I um... yes?"

"Kid, you had no desire to battle before, even back when I got you your first pokemon. We know that your parents weren't gonna do it... and you didn't want to battle then, so why now? Change of heart?"

"Wel-"

"Or is this another one of those things where you get super interested and invested into something, try it out for a bit, then give up when it gets too hard or you find out that you arent good at it? You want me to give you an endorsement letter just so you can quit?"

"Aunty, Una and I-"

"And there you go again, dragging your pokemon into it. Una wants to battle? What about you? Do you really want to or are you just chasing after another hobby that wont stick? I swear, I helped you start so many things, and you never finished any of them. Dancing, tennis, fencing, painting, sewing, wood, and so many more. Are you even done unpacking or did you quit that too? You cant keep doing thi-"

" **Angi**! I want to battle! I want to battle and get stronger and make a team and... and do something! So... so are you gonna give me the letter or not?"

There was finally just a long silent pause before a sigh is heard on the other end. Sueko was red in the face though, one hand clutching the phone so tightly that her knuckles were nearly white while the other was balled up and shaking. She had started this phone call sitting but was now standing and rocking a bit, Una looking rather concerned and resting a hand against her trainer's back.

"...You really do want to try this... Alright, I'll get you the letter BUT on one condition. You HAVE to make it to Kabu's gym. He's the third gym but... but he's a strong one. Its not often that trainers beat him, fairly common for those to quit at that point. If you can reach him, defeat at least one of his pokemon, then you can quit. But not a moment before! If I'm gonna give you that letter, then I want you to really try hard at this. Try hard, lose, stumble, fall, get back up... Do we have a deal?"

Sueko bit her lip and squirmed a bit but nodded. "I... Yes, deal. I'll make it that far and... and you'll watch the matches?"

"Of course, I promise. You should probably start training now if you want to be ready for the challenge though. This wont be easy. The Wild Area should give you plenty of places to train and get some team members, just be careful. I haven't been there in ages but I still remember how overwhelming it was the first time I went."

"I... alright Aunty. Thank you... I mean it. You... you got me here and-"

"I know kid. You better send pictures of your team as it grows as well. Good luck."

Click

Sueko slowly pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the screen, her heart slowly racing. "... We're really doing this Una... Grab my coat, we're heading out."


	3. A New Team Member?

"...So um... any idea where to start looking?"

The pair were just standing at the base of the stairs that led up to Motostoke. Having to actually traverse and search through the Wild Areas made it all seem so much larger and daunting but... it was probably the best place to start looking for a new team member. Una glanced around for a moment before just grabbing a hold of Sueko's wrist and started to hop forward. Standing around wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"We have until the day after tomorrow to find a new member and start some training. Cus um... we both know how long its been since we last did that...I really do miss those days. You were the cutest buneary ever, then you evolved and became taller than me." Sueko sighed softly as she briefly remembered those days, being much younger, smaller, and not quite so burnt out from failure and disappointment. 

Una just glanced back and stuck her tongue out, even playfully pulled her lower eyelid down a bit. She remembered those days too. Often being carried around like a stuffed teddy bear by the small child, only to evolve one day and, more or less, do the same back for a bit before just using her trainer's head as a leaning post. Though eventually her trainer outgrew that as well and was now the taller one... but was far from tall. They could be shorties together though.

_"HISSSSS"_

"..."

"..."

That uh... didn't sound inviting. Pausing, the pair turned their heads only to jolt and yelp. Eyes wide and arms grasping onto each other tighter. It was a Liepard, and a rather angry one at that. Back was arched, fur all puffed up and standing on end, tail lashing about and claws extended out. Even the lips were pulled back a bit in a snarl, baring rows of sharp teeth.

The cat pokemon gave a warning swipe and yowled a bit.

"Una, please tell me you know a fighting type move."

Una nodded her head but didn't pull away from her trainer. The two slowly backed away from the clearly angry and territorial pokemon in hopes of just avoiding a battle all together. Yes, they were supposed to be training and catching pokemon but... maybe it would be better to start with something less... agitated.

Releasing her trainer, Una leaped at the cat pokemon with one of her legs extended out, preparing a Double Kick. But mid-air, she was intercepted with a Sucker Punch, making the rabbit pokemon cry out before she hit the ground and slid back a bit. It was fast and hit hard, and it looked ready for another attack already.

"Una! Ok ok ok, bad idea." Sueko knelt down beside her pokemon before quickly reaching into one of the pockets of her coat. Meanwhile, the Liepard pounced at the two, mouth agape and paws out, claws ready to sink in. Using this moment, Sueko just tossed a Pokeball at the attacking pokemon before quickly grabbing her injured partner and making a run for it. She had no intentions of actually catching the Liepard, just needed a brief moment to run for it. And it worked, the ball hit its mark and pulled the pokemon inside, trapping it for a brief moment before it broke free, but the pair were already out of sight, hiding behind a conveniently large boulder.

Back pressed against the rough and slightly jagged boulder, Sueko gasped and panted but tried to stay quiet. Her heart was just pounding against her chest, her fingers a bit cold and stiff, while she held her pokemon in her arms. But thankfully the crisis was averted. Slowly, she let her tense body just slump and slide down until she laying on her back, Una slowly sitting up against the rock. Well, that was certainly something.

"... Maybe we should go a bit further out, towards the Meetup Spot... I think weaker pokemon are over there. Right?"

Una just rapidly nodded before slowly standing up and grasped onto her trainer's hand. Yeah, no way they were operating after that. But the walk from on end to the other wasn't going to be a fast one, even with the two just trying to run past everything. And it wasn't easy either, they had to run past so many pokemon that just chased and attacked them! Shiftry, Xatu, Vespiquen, and most terrifying was a Bewear, or maybe the Gyarados that saw them from the water and swam up to the edge.

But finally, after what felt like hours, they made it. Exhausted and just... wanting to go home already. Una had already flopped onto the ground, laying on her stomach with her face against the dirt, body covered in little scuffs and marks. While the two had tried to avoid the battles, they still sometimes had to at least try to get the pokemon off their back. Meanwhile Sueko was just sitting down, bag dropped onto the ground beside her, her hair sticking to her forehead a bit. Fear certainly created a lot of sweat, more than she'd like to admit.

While the two caught their breath and tried to get feeling back in their legs, a train pulled up to the station before stopping, opening its doors and letting out passengers. Slowly the train emptied out and refilled with new travelers before shutting the doors and leaving. During which, Una finally got up and moved over to her trainer, the pair trying to think of what pokemon to get for the team since the first gym is a grass type one. As the pair talked, something slowly moved over to them until-

"Ow! Hey, what was that pinch for?!"

"Bun?!" Una looked offended and even had a hand over her chest before huffing and crinkling her nose. She wouldn't do that!

"Oh yeah? Then who pinched me?" It was then that Sueko realized something. Una is on her right side, the pinch came from the left... Slowly she glanced over and at the ground beside her was a Venipede, biting at her leg and just barely getting through the material of her pants.

"... I... really? Really now? You are _biting_ my leg?" The bug pokemon simply looked up, remaining eye contact, as it went in for another bite, causing the trainer to jolt and hiss in pain. "Ow! Hey, don't bite me again! Get over here you little bugger." She huffed, grabbing a hold of the pokemon and lifted it up, keeping it an arm's length away. The Venipede wiggled around and hissed at the trainer, its many legs twitching and wiggling about.

Una tilted her head a bit as she stared at the pokemon before gasping and quickly snatching it out of her trainer's hands. Her tail wagged as she stood up before bringing the pokemon in closer and nuzzled her face against it, much to the bug's dismay. It hissed and tried to lean away. Una started to chit chat about something, getting the Venipede's attention, who soon started to respond and even nod at times before finally stopping all of its squirming. With a nod of approval, and perhaps a bit of pride as well, Una set the pokemon down and gestured at it, almost like she was showcasing a prize.

"I... No way. You did NOT just... Una... please never change. Alright, guess you're joining us huh? I'm naming you Venom." Sueko stated as she fished around for a Pokeball, holding it out for the Venipede, now called Venom, to use. Venom actually nodded, let out a sound, before bonking against the Pokeball, letting herself be caught.

"...I really doubt any of the other catches are gonna be this easy. I mean, unless you want to work your magic for the next four teammates, Una." Once the Pokeball was done with the whole wiggle wiggle and star thing, she let out the new partner.

Venom stretched for a moment before staring up at the trainer. "Ok Venom, we are gonna need your help getting us back to Motostoke safely. So, what moves do you know?"

With a small nod and... battle cry? Venom curled up, using Defense Curl, before starting out a Rollout, and that was honestly enough to keep most pokemon away as Una and Sueko chased after the rolling bug. The few pokemon that didn't move out of the way was hit with a rather strong Rollout attack, having plenty of time to power up and gain speed, knocking them aside for the trio to just keep going. No time to stop and continue the battle, just run for it. That is until they met with their first encounter.

The Liepard hissed and pounced at Venom, or sprung out of the Rollout and just barely dodged a Shadow Claw. Venom's legs caught the ground as she slid a bit, kicking up some dust and dirt. Venom let out her own hiss, her antenna and tail twitching and shaking. Una stood behind Sueko, watching fearfully, before hopping out and letting out her own cry, gaining the attention of the cat pokemon.

A two on one? That doesn't seem fair... With a nervous gulp, Sueko decided to finally give an actual command. "... V-venom! Use... use Poison Sting!"

The Venipede stared at its trainer for a moment, not liking the hesitation, but still followed through. Many small, purple-colored, needles shot out from her mouth and aimed at the Liepard, who jumped back to avoid the needles, which hit the ground and stayed there for a few moments before just breaking into a faint purple dust. Una was staying back though, not wanting to just jump on it. The Lie pard opened it's mouth and black circles began to fire out, Dark Pulse.

Venom hissed before using Rollout, just barely avoiding the attack before charging at the pokemon. Liepard cried out as it was hit in the chest before quickly retaliating with a Shadow Claw. Venom let out her own cry, smacked out of her attack and sent flying before crashing to the ground and sliding. Quickly, Sueko scrambled before grabbing the Pokeball and calling for Venom back, just barely getting her before Liepard could land another Shadow Claw.

Una practically growled as she jumped in this time, fists balled up and eyes narrowed. There was no way she was just gonna let someone hurt her new friend!

"Lop!" She yelled, stomping her foot. Liepard slowly turned around to face the rabbit pokemon, body lowering a bit and fur standing on end. Sueko quickly recognized this, the pokemon was gonna pounce, as it did the same thing before.

"Una, Quick Attack."

"Lop." Una nodded before charging straight for the pokemon, hitting it square in the chest mid pounce, as a white trail was left behind her. Coming to a stop, Una landed on her feet and slid on the ground a bit, kicking up more dust, but the Liepard was far from done. It stood back up on its four legs and shook its body a bit, before readying itself for another attack.

"...Una, use Double Kick on the ground."

"Bun?"

"Just... trust me."

"Lop!" Quickly, Una lifted a leg up before slamming it down on the ground, before she round herself up a bit to do it again in a quick recession, her large ears ended up sweeping the ground as well, creating quite the dust cloud, which was enough for the Liepard to miss its Dark Pulse. From there, Una would use Quick Attack, hit the Liepard, slide a bit on the ground, kick up more dust, and hide in the cloud before attacking again. Just slowly chipping away at the pokemon before finally it had enough and ran off, though not before giving a loud hiss.

Una was gasping and panting, covered in dust and dirt before she sighed and slumped down to the ground. Her trainer slowly walked up before patting her head. "That was great... but lets get home, Now. I've had more than enough of this place for now."

"Lop." She agreed, nodding her head, before getting up and following her trainer to and up the stairs, back to Motostoke. Would that count as their first battle in Galar? Hope not, cus that was embarrassing and rough.


	4. Budew Drop Inn

That was certainly an adventure, plenty of terror but a new member was added to the team. And a great one at that! After a quick trip to the pokecenter to heal up, the trio was back at that cafe that started this all, with Venom happily chowing down on some food while Una drank a pokemon-friendly Sawsbucks Coffee... should she be drinking that? Sueko was busy looking at her phone though, which had the data of both of her pokemon on it.

"Alright, we have tomorrow to train and then its the big day, the Opening Ceremony for the gym challenge. Angi told me that up first will be Milo, the grass gym, then we have Nesse the water gym..." She hummed in thought, chewing on her lip a bit before glancing at her team. "Well... we have you Venom for Milo, Bug and Poison, so you wont have much to worry there."

"Ven." The bug pokemon nodded, her antennae twitching and wiggling a bit.

"And Una, I mean you're a fully evolved pokemon, so that should be more than enough... wait..." Sueko squinted a bit at her phone before giving Una a shocked look. "You know Dizzy Punch?"

"Bun~" Una just nodded, wiggling a bit in her seat.

"I... wow, ok. Yeah, that's gonna be pretty good for us."

_Una - Lopunny_   
_Female_   
_Cute Charm_   
_Quick Attack, Double Kick, Protect, Dizzy Punch_

_Venom - Venipede_   
_Female_   
_Swarm_   
_Poison Sting, Defense Curl, Rollout, Pin Missile_

"The plan, for now, is this. We'll rest tonight cus um... that was a lot. Then tomorrow we'll train."

"Ven!"

"Bun!"

The two pokemon nodded and cheered a bit before going back to their treats.

\-----------------

Training consisted of part physical training, part talking and planning, and part resting and trying to bond together. Una and Venom would alternate between battling each other and battling other pokemon while Sueko tried to get used to calling out commands and reacting in time.

The day came to an end though and after a trip to the Pokecenter, they headed to bed a bit early. Need to be well-rested to get up early enough to register for the gym challenge after all.

And it was time for that now. Una stood beside Sueko with venom perched on the trainer's shoulder, endorsement letter in her mouth.

"Well this is the place. Aunt Angi told me that if things go as planned, we should end up back here to fight Kabu, the fire gym leader, and 3rd in the order... for now, it's the place of the ceremony... Motostoke Stadium." Sueko explained as she craned her neck a bit to take in just the sheer size of the building. And that was just the outside of it, the inside felt even larger.

Venom nearly fell off of her shoulder from looking up so high, causing the trainer to jolt a bit and let out a small startled sound, quickly grabbing a hold of the bug pokemon.

Walking inside, Sueko glanced around and noticed just a bunch of trainers, and they all seemed to already have their own little groups to chat with. A small frown tugged at her lips, her walking slowing down a bit. She was still new here after all, not even a week of being in Galar, so of course she hadn't really made any friends yet but still... Una had actually noticed fairly quickly and grabbed her trainer's attention by tugging on her wrist a bit, pulling her closer to the front desk where they could actually register for the league. 

"Bun?"

"...Yeah, thanks Una. We should probably just get this over with." She mumbled only to pause as there was someone at the front desk already, and they really stood out against everyone else with their purplish and pinkish jacket. She glanced at Venom and grinned a bit. "You two match."

Venom took a glance at the person at the front desk before hissing at her trainer, who just chuckled along with Una.

"Vena!"

"Alright alright, you wear it better."

"Bun bun!"

The two chuckled some more while Venom huffed and waggled her head antennae a bit. After a moment though, the person was finally done with the front and turned around and just walked past Sueko, bumping shoulders. She scoffed a bit and crinkled her nose at his lack of apology, Una and Venom even glared at him, Venom hissing lowly. Well that was rude.

With a bit of a huff, Sueko just shook her head a bit before walking up to the front desk and greeted the worker behind it. She gently took the endorsement letter from Venom before handing it to the worker, who quirked an eyebrow at the name on it.

"Angi? ...Oh! Now I know why that name sounds familiar. She was a pretty big name back before Leon was champion when Mustard held the title. Unfezant was her ace, a master of the sky. Though after a while she just... kind of vanished. How'd you find her and get her to endorse you though?" He asked, typing in something into the computer.

"...Wait really? I mean, I knew that Angi was an ace trainer but, I didn't know that she was that good... Um... she's my aunt and she moved to Unova."

"Unova huh? Come a long way for a challenge."

"Y-yeah, was more of a spontaneous thing really."

The man just nodded and hummed a bit, his eyes haven't let the computer screen the entire conversation. "Alright, well I just need you to pick a number for your league card and then you're all good to go. You will be staying at the Budew Drop Inn for the night, and then in the morning will be the ceremony. Sadly, your pokemon must be in their balls for it."

The last bit made Una huff and puff her cheeks out a bit, her nose crinkling. She really did NOT like being inside of her Pokeball. It meant that she was just missing out on what was happening around them, the sights and sounds... also because she was a bit protective of her trainer and wanted to just make sure that she was safe, even if she was no longer a kid.

Sueko nodded though and picked out a number, 906, before leaving. That was that. Now, while they could squeeze in more training before the ceremony, Sueko honestly just wanted to relax and rest, feeling suddenly very nervous about the ceremony. From her understanding of it, she was literally just going to wait for the gym leaders to walk out and be introduced, and then walk out with all of the other trainers and just let the crowd cheer and scream at them, and that would be it... not really much of a ceremony, and yet her nerves were rising.

Something which her pokemon took quick notice of. Una tried to take her mind off of it by grasping onto her hands and bouncing off, heading out of the stadium and over to the inn, while Venom just nudged against her and let out little vibrations from her antennae.

The inn was literally right next to the stadium though, so it wasn't really much of a walk at all and getting lost along the way just felt so comically impossible. And yet, there was still a person to escort her over to it. Once inside though, the lobby wasn't packed but it wasn't empty either, a good amount of people and pokemon lingered about, and there was a small group at the front desk. Loud in both volume and appearance... they were gonna have to wait for them to leave before they could check in.

With a groan, Sueko just walked over to a couch and sat down, pinching the bridge of her nose a bit.

"... Bun?"

"No no, its fine Una. We can just wait a bit here, hopefully they'll leave soon."

"Bun?"

"If they don't? ... Then I guess the staff will just call the police or security... hopefully."

Venom had other plans though. She had already climbed down from her trainer's shoulder and was scurrying over to the group, her head antennae pulled back slightly and her tail ones twitching. She stopped right in front of them and let out a long and loud hiss, catching not just their attention before Sueko's and Una's, who both looked frantic. The pair scrambled up and hurried over to the bug pokemon, who was tipping tapping her many feet against the floor, hissing, and twitching her antennae at the group.

"Team Yell came all the way out here to properly cheer on the Gym Challengers! If you want to stop us, then you have to fight us."

"Vena!"

"You got spunk little bug, but we told you, mate, you try to stop us, we fight you. We're here to make some noise!"

Una and Sueko quickly noticed what was happening and scrambled from their spot. Una quickly grabbed and scooped up Venom, who hissed and squirmed in her grasp, while Sueko got between her pokemon and Team Yell.

"N-now hold on just a moment here. We don't need to battle this out." She tried to reason, mostly because she hadn't battled a trainer yet and REALLY didn't want to try it out now, here of all places.

However, it seems that a battle was gonna happen regardless since one of them had already tossed out a Pokeball, releasing a zigzagoon. Two more members nodded and followed suit, sending out another zigzagoon and a nickit.

Three pokemon... and Sueko only had two. Venom was more than happy to battle though, wiggling out of Una's hold and jumping to the ground, hissing loudly and stamping her little feet. Una balled up her hands and narrowed her eyes though, her large ears lifting slightly. Thankfully though, two trainers jogged over and joined the fray, a boy and a girl. One wore a jacket that looked to have some fur on it, and the other had a sweater and hat on, each one sending out a pokemon. A wooloo and a pokemon she didn't recognize but it looked like a blue lizard of some sort.

She gulped nervously, a battle it was then.

"We got these two."

"Yeah! Dont worry at all."

"I... I guess..." Sueko mumbled a bit, not entirely sure how to react. She called back Una and let Venom battle, since she doubted that she could call her back. It wasn't much of a battle though, Venom going straight for Pin Missle and not even giving Sueko a chance to call out an attack, just acting on her own. And well, it was enough. It looked a lot of Poison Sting, but instead of purple, it was more of just a pure white glow, and also much larger and thicker.

The battle was over as soon as it started, Venom letting out a battle cry before hissing at Team Yell and scurried back to Sueko, stopping at her feet and shutting her eyes, head tilting a bit. A head pat and praise were demanded, which she got.

It seemed that the double battle beside her was the same, quick and one-sided. "Hey, thanks for that."

"Oh no problem at all. I'm Gloria by the way."

"And I'm Hop! I'm gonna be the next champion!" He exclaimed out, arms waving and bouncing about. Sueko just grinned a bit. Well at least he knew what he wanted and had a goal set out.

"...I'm Sueko."

Before the introductions could change into a conversation, a new voice piped in.

"What are you lot doing here?"

It belonged to a girl with black hair, a black jacket, and a pink dress with a Morpeko beside her at her feet.

"Marnie?!" Team Yell yelled in confusion... Her face was the same on the banner that some of them carried around. Oh! They're here to cheer her on... But... why?

Marnie began to chat and scold them for causing a scene and stopping the other challenges from checking in, before turning her attention to Gloria and Hop, apologizing to them. But at this point, Sueko had decided that now was her chance to just check-in and dip out to her room, wanting a break. She didn't want to battle today and... she kind of didn't. Her pokemon just did what they wanted to do and handled the battle perfectly fine without her.

Once checked in she paused before giving a polite wave to Hop and Gloria, before heading to the elevator, just extremely relieved once inside and the door shut... silence. A long day and yet not much happened.


	5. The Ceremony

"Bun bun!"

"Una I know, you dont like being in your ball but please, it wont be for very long. And once the ceremony is over, I'll let you out and tell you everything that happened. That, and I'm sure that they'll be showing the event all day."

"Lop..."

"It'll be fine, ok? Afterwards, I'll get you your favorite Sawsbuck drink, ok?"

"...Bun." Una gave a small nod in the end. She still wasn't happy with the idea of having to stay inside of her ball but... it hopefully wouldn't be too long.

"Thank you, Una." Sueko smiled softly and patted her pokemon on the head. Meanwhile, Venom was just resting on the bed, not at all caring about being in a Pokeball or not. With that taken care of though, it was time to leave the Inn and head back to the Stadium, almost time for the ceremony. Sueko did leave both of her pokemon out of their balls for the time being though.

Once back inside though, Sueko quickly noticed how a lot of the trainers were wearing the same sort of uniform, though they all had a different number on the back of it, and after checking in with the desk worker, Sueko soon realized that it was the uniform that all of the challengers will wear for both the ceremony and all of the gym battles. The outfit consisted of a white top with long sleeves, a blue and black stripe down the sides, and a black trim on the sleeves and neck. The shorts were more or less the same in design as well, both of which had her number on them. 906 on the back of the shirt, and on the leg of the shorts.

Una clapped at the outfit once her trainer exited the changing room, Venom giving a quick look over before nodding. It looked alright. It even came with a glove that she wore on her left hand, adjusting it a bit. However, it came time to return both pokemon to their balls, something that Una knew but dreaded. She huffed but didn't put up any more of a fight than that, and just let her trainer return her. It was just gonna be for a sort bit, right?

With her pokemon in their balls, Sueko stared at them for a moment before setting them on her belt and headed over to the stadium. She stayed in the hallway with the other trainers, her fingers rubbing and fiddling with the material of her top, watching and listening as Chairman Rose welcomed everyone for coming.

"I am Rose, Chairman of the pokemon league! I know that everyone gathered here, and everyone watching from home have all been waiting for this big moment!"

The crowd cheered and yelled out, she swore that she could even hear pokemon crying out as well. It honestly hurt her ears a bit but it was getting her pumped up as well! Though perhaps a bit nervous as well.

"It is my pleasure to announce that finally, the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin! Participants must defeat the eight Gym Leaders and gather all eight gym badges to prove their skills as a trainer! Only the most worthy will have the honor of challenging the greatest Champion in history!"

That last bit though... it caught Sueko's attention and she couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at it. Did he mean the greatest in Galar's history? Cus... if not, then she wondered if Leon really was stronger than the other champions she heard of from the other regions. Granted, battling wasn't her thing, and she had only just recently picked it up and looked into it, but... he couldn't be that strong, could he?

She shook her head though and sighed softly. There was no way she ever gonna get far enough to even have a chance of facing Leon, let alone beating him.

"Now, I would like to invite the Gym Leaders to show themselves!"

The crowd erupted at this as Sueko looked up, standing on her toes a bit, to catch a glimpse at the Gym Leaders. Sueko had already done some looking into, as well as having Aunt Angi tell her what she knew, and Galar had a bit of a weird thing they did with their Gym Leaders. Only eight could be active at one time, but Galar had a total of ten, so every year two of them would switch out. The fighting type Gym Leader Bea, and the Rock type one Gordie, would switch out for the Ghost type leader Allister, and the Ice type leader Melony, this year though, it was Bea and Gordie. Gulping nervously, Sueko took a quick glance at her belt where her two pokemon were, in their pokeballs... a normal type and a bug type... Granted those two were much further along and by then, if she even made it that far in the first place, she would have more pokemon that could hopefully make up for the type disadvantage.

As the gym leaders walked across the stadium though, Rose introduced them, and each one got a huge cry and roar from the crowd. Some louder than others.

"The fighting farmer! Here's the Grass type expert, Milo!" A man on the shorter end but he more than made up for it with his bulk. His hair was short and pinkish, mostly hidden under a large straw hat.

"The raging wave! It's the master of Water types, Nessa!" A woman with long dark hair with bright blue highlights. And she was tall too... perhaps Sueko had seen her a few times before in some magazines or on TV, a model perhaps?

"The ever-burning man of fire! Here comes the Fire type veteran, Kabu!" There he was, Kabu... a much older looking man and yet he looked so full of energy and even fire, fitting. But that was him, the gym leader that Sueko had to make it to and defeat at least one of his pokemon. He's only third in the order but... even from here he felt so intimidating. Una and Venom weren't gonna be enough for him at all... especially against fire types.

"The Galar karate prodigy! Nobody's better with Fighting types than Bea!" Now that was someone more Sueko's height, but she looked younger. Younger but far stronger easily. Her hair was short and a grayish color, and she looked like someone who physically trained with her own pokemon.

"The master of a fantastic theater! Its the charming Fairy type user, Opal!" Opal... now that was someone that Sueko already knew a bit about, much like Kabu. Someone who was part of the league back when Aunt Angi was a challenger, now she was a much older woman, with white hair that was mostly hidden by her large hat, and she had a cane with her. And yet she still gave off this energy of strength... a tough trainer.

"The hard-rock crusher! Please welcome the Rock type master, Gordie!" Like Bea, he looked younger but closer to Milo and Nessa. His hair was... styled in a way, white and yellow, and he wore a pair of shades. He somehow gave off vibes of both utter confidence but also a tinge of insecurity... the shades perhaps.

Now there was one gym leader that was missing, that much Sueko knew but... who and what type were they? The seventh leader... so far into the challenge and yet was left a mystery... Sueko was most likely not even gonna get close to that though, so she didn't worry about too much.

"And last but not least, the tamer of dragons... It Raihan, the top Gym Leader!" Raihan... a tall man and the last gym leader, a master of dragons as well. He was wearing a rather loose and thick hoodie, and he was even in the middle of taking a selfie... Sueko shook her head a bit, she wasn't ever gonna battle him, so why worry?

"These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own!" The crowd cheered loudly, the gym leaders now standing in a line in the middle of the battle field. This went on for a good moment or so before the trainers were given a signal by one of the staff, and they all began to slowly walk out from the hallways and onto the field.

The cheering got louder and louder until Sueko had to fight the urge to cover her ears now that she was on the field. Her stance was stiff as she walked, head moving around a bit. So many people, tons of flashes and bright lights, loud cheering and yelling... and she could feel the eyes of the gym leaders on her and the loads of other trainers... Nervously, she rested a hand against were her pokeballs hung from her belt, really wishing that Una was here to just... even just be there would do a lot for her. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, her body feeling a bit cold and hands getting sweaty, her lower lip getting caught between her teeth. She wasn't even doing anything! Just supposed to stand there and yet her nerves were spiking.

\-------------

Sueko sat in the changing room for a bit, Una and Venom out of their balls now. Una had a hand on her trainer's shoulder while Venom sat on her lap, looking up at her. Sueko just needed a moment to breathe and gather herself, that was all. "I'm fine... I'm good... I just need to get used to this. The gym battles are gonna happen in a stadium after all... tons of people watching... Lets just get out of here and get something to eat. We can start the real challenge afterwards, alright? I promised you that drink after all."

Una just frowned a bit but nodded. While she did still want her promised drink, she was also fine with just... going home for the day and starting things tomorrow. But if her trainer just needed a breather and a break, then alright... she was gonna keep an eye on her though. And Venom already had the same thought, refusing to leave Sueko and even climbed up onto her shoulder, giving her a soft nudge. The trio left the changing room and the stadium, catching a brief glimpse of Hop and Gloria happily chatting before they ran out, looking eager to get things started... Would she have been that eager back during that age?


	6. Starting the Challenge

"Bun bun!"

"Just... one moment please, Una. I'm just making sure we have everything we need. I know its not a long trip from Motostoke to Turffield, but I just want to make sure we wont run out of stuff we need before we get there. Lets see... a tent, sleeping bag, other camping stuff, potions, poison and burn heals, berries... I think that should do it."

"Vena!" Venom was tugging on Sueko's pantleg, already so eager to just get going and to hit the road. She also just wanted to battle, able to hear the rustling of the grass ahead and some faint pokemon cries.

"Ok ok, I get it, loud and clear. Lets go." Sueko adjusted the bag before letting out a soft sigh. Dressed in a pair of black designer denim pants, a loose red top, a black motorcycle jacket, and black ankle boots, Sueko figured that this was probably her best outfit for a journey. The boots were made of strong material and thick, so they'ed last easily, and the jacket would keep her warm from the cold or any harsh winds... that and she just felt good in what she wore.

Route 3 though... Sueko stared a bit at the spot where the city ended and the route started before just taking that step and continued on. She glanced around and the route didn't feel anything special. Just a dirt path, a bit of turns here and there, some patches of grass, nothing too special. Zigzagoon and Vulpix ran around, the occasional Trubbish and Stunky hidden in the grass. There was even a Corvisquire that was chilling on a boulder, only to take flight at the sight of Venom.

Sueko let out a startled sound before she grabbed a hold of her Venipede, who just looked eager for a battle and hissed at the attacking bird pokemon. Meanwhile, Una was balling her fist up but she paused, giving her trainer a look. When she didn't get an order, she jumped in front and brought her ears forward, using the thick fur as a shield from the upcoming Pluck attack. The attack did push her back a bit, nearly bumping into her trainer, but she was fine.

"Bun!"

"Vena!"

"O-oh, right... Uh... Una, use Dizzy Punch."

With a nod Una balled her fist again, this time it began to glow with multiple colors. She attempted to punch the bird pokemon but it just dodged by flying out of the way. Una tried a few times, bouncing and hopping about but just barely missing each and every time. Una had strong and powerful legs that gave her a good boost when jumping or running, but Corvisquire had the entire sky... Sueko stared at the bird pokemon for a moment before humming softly.

"... Una, fall back."

"Bun?"

"Ven?!"

"Just... trust me. Come back."

"..." Una paused before hopping back to her trainer and just stood beside her. What now?

"Just wait, watch."

Sure enough, after a few moments of flapping Corvisquire slowly let itself land back on the boulder it was on when this all started. It stared down the trainer and pokemon, but it was panting a bit.

"Corvisquire might have the whole sky, but it takes energy to use it. Standing on the ground takes nothing, but it would lose the fight against you on land, so it takes to the sky to have the advantage. Just provoke and dodge it until it has to land, or it gets too tired to react fast enough to dodge you and there you go."

"Bun!"

"Vena!"

Both of her pokemon looked at her in shock, eyes wide. All of that from just... staring at the pokemon?!

"... Dont look at me like that! I might be new to battling but... come on. That's just... common sense, right? A-anyway! Una, you know what to do. Try altering between Quick-Attack and Dizzy Punch."

"Bun!" Una gave a nod before starting off with Quick-Attack, leaving a white trail behind her as she sped over to the temporarily grounded bird pokemon, though it quickly took flight and just barely avoided the attack. From there, Una would hop about and attempt to punch at the bird or slam into it with Quick-Attack anytime it got close. And while she was getting a bit tired too, she had more stamina than the Corvisquire when it ended up setting itself down on the ground, panting but glaring harshly.

With a last burst, Una used Quick-Attack but combined it with Dizzy Punch, hitting the bird square in the chest before it could use Pluck, sending it crashing against the ground and kicked up some dust. Once the dust settled, the pokemon was still on the ground with a pair of swirled eyes. K.O. Una hopped up and cheered a bit while Venom twitched its antennae happily. Sueko sighed softly and smiled, a bit proud and happy that her plan worked. She shifted through her bag for a moment before pulling out an Oran berry. Walking over to the fainted pokemon, she knelt and left the berry beside it. It wasn't much but... better than nothing, right?

And with that, the trio continued on. Venom just hissed at any and every pokemon that approached them, sometimes even charging at them before Una or Sueko quickly scooped her up. Such a battle-ready pokemon. It wasn't long at all until they reached an entrance to a cave... or well a Mine to be more specific, the Galar Mine. Now this did have her a bit nervous, mostly because she expected to find mostly rock or ground types inside and well... her venipede wasn't the best typing for that. And yes, she knew that Venom was plenty strong and battle eager but still! She was worried.

Still though, they had to cross through the mine before they would make it to Turffield and face Milo, the first gym leader. The mine was gorgeous though! The inside filled with glowing gems and crystals of various colors, and that combined with the mining lights already inside, it gave the mine a kind of homey and charming feel to it with just the lighting. And it was filled with pokemon just wandering about. Diglett, Drilbur, Roggenrola, even some Woobats and Timburrs... anytime Sueko saw a pokemon native to Unova, it made her feel a tad homesick but also strangely nostalgic as well. She ended up tripping over a Rolycoly though, not watching where she was going as her mind was busy elsewhere, angering the rock on a wheel.

Venom hoped out of Sueko's arms before scurrying in front of the angry rock type, hissing and aggressively twitching and wiggling her antennae at it. Venom let out a warning Poison Sting, having it land in the ground right in front of the opposing pokemon. Una just sighed and hung her head a bit at the sight. Really? A warning shot?

"Venom... come on, we don't need to fight every pokemon. It's rightfully angry after all."

" _Hisssss_ "

"... Thats fair. Una had her battle, you can have this one."

"Ven!"

The Rolycoly didn't want to wait any longer and let out a SmokeScreen attack, hiding in the thick black haze. Venom jolted a bit before hissing, her antennae waggling a bit as she glanced about, trying to catch sight of the pokemon. Sueko hummed and looked around too. It was on a wheel, so it probably couldn't jump much or go over overly uneven terrain too easily so...

Before Sueko or Venom could react though, Rolycoly came out from the smoke and rammed into Venom while spinning rapidly, Rapid Spin, the attack knocking Venom over to her side and raising Rolycoly's speed, who also quickly ducked back into the smoke. Venom jumped back onto her legs and cried out loudly before going into a RollOut attack and charged straight into the smoke, not able to see where she was going or aiming at... and ended up hitting a wall of the cave before hit by Rolycoly during her moment of being stunned, knocking her down again.

"Venom! Quick, come back, don't go into the smoke."

Reluctantly, she listened and scurried back to her trainer, but by now Sueko had enough time to think of something. "Venom, I... I need you to listen to me on this, ok?"

"Vennnn..."

"Please?"

"... Ven." She huffed a bit but nodded.

"Rolycoly only has one wheel and cant move around if the wheel hasn't made contact with the ground... so why not just cover the field in Poison Sting. You can force a path for it so you know where it'll be, negating the smoke, or just cover the entire field and have it run over the poisonous needles, slowing it down so you can hit it with RollOut."

Again there was that stare, a look of shock and wonder. Did... did her pokemon really think of her to be that inept or... or what? After a brief moment though, Venom quickly followed with the plan and fired out a large spray of Poison Sting, slowly turning as well until almost the entire field was covered, leaving just a small bit. Not even bothering to wait, Venom just curled up and used RollOut again, this time hitting her mark and slamming right into the rock type pokemon. Rolycoly was knocked over and slid across the ground a bit before it picked itself back up. But it had enough and just bolted away, much to Venom's annoyance who hissed and even stamped her little feet in anger.

"... Sorry Venom, maybe next time? I mean, I'm gonna be using you for the Gym battle for sure soooo."

That almost instantly cheered up the bug though, who perked up and cheered. "We should um... clean up this mess though. I wouldn't want any other pokemon or trainers walking into this." Sueko gestured about, bright glowing purple needles just littered the ground. With a nod, Venom just walked all around, actually eating the needles. Once the last needle was dealt with the trio continued on through the cave. At one point they were almost hit by a Carkol speeding along a set of tracks, but that was really it and the exit was nearing.

But just ahead, before the exit, were two trainers battling. It was Gloria and... and she didn't know the of the boy but she knew that look though. White hair and a purple and pink large coat. And it was a Sobble, she now knew what the pokemon was, against a Hatenna, but the psychic type was taken out by a Water Pulse. Sueko was just out of range to hear what the two trainers were saying but the boy ended up leaving. Gloria soon noticed Sueko though and smiled, waving over to her. Too late to leave now and pretend that she didn't see her either.

"H-hey, Gloria. I didn't expect to run into you here. I thought you would have been at Turffield by now."

"Sueko! Its good to see you. I'm taking things a little slow for now, I just want to make sure that my team are ready for Milo's gym. Sobble is strong but he's a water type, so I was training both him and my Rookidee here. What about you? Your Lopunny and Venipede seem pretty strong, I thought you would have been heading to Nessa's gym by now." Her Sobble seemed to hide behind Gloria's leg at the compliment it was given... that or maybe it was because of Sueko and her own pokemon getting too close... or both.

"Thats a pretty smart move.... Nessa's gym? I... that's really nice of you but I don't think I would have been that far ahead. Besides, I lagged behind a bit, needed to treat Una for staying inside of her Pokeball during the ceremony. She uh... really does not like it." Una even huffed and crossed her arms a bit, sticking her nose up too. Gloria just giggled and nodded though.

"I think I read an article talking about why certain pokemon don't like staying in pokeballs, no matter how comfortable they are."

"...Wiat, where's um... Hop?" Sueko had to think for a moment, she wasn't the best with names.

"Hop? Oh he ran on ahead, too eager to wait around. That and he got a Scorbunny, so he should be fine."

Sueko nodded a bit, assuming that Scorbunny was a fire type then... starters for the region. She remembered the starters from Unova, Snivy, Tepid, and Oshawott... as a young kid she wished she could have had any of them but at the end of the day, she loves the pokemon she got. A Buneary who evolved into a Lopunny, a friend in either form.

"Well it was great seeing you again. I need to get back to training though. A little bit more and I think I'll be ready for the gym battle! Good luck Sueko. Oh and maybe we can battle at some point?"

Sueko nearly jolted and felt some sweat form on her forehead but she gave a shaky nod. "Y-yeah, perhaps. Thank you... good luck to you as well." And with that, the two trainers went different ways, one heading back deep into the mine, and the other heading straight for the exit and to route 4, a hop skip and a jump away from Turffield.


	7. Meeting Milo

"My eyes... too bright." Sueko groaned, shielding her eyes a bit. It wasn't even that dark inside of the Galar Mine, just... not as bright as it was outside.

"Bun?" Una lifted one of her ears over Sueko's head, using it to help shade her trainer from the bright sun. It was a bit bright outside honestly but she was fine. Venom didn't care either way, just gently tugged on Sueko's pant leg to get the human walking again. Come on! She was so eager to finally get a crack at a REAL battle.

"Alright alright, I'm moving I'm moving." Sueko actually chuckled softly, bending over to pick up her over eager pokemon before heading down the dirt road. She could see Turffield and the gym just up ahead. Route 4 really wasn't much. The trio didn't even make it that far when suddenly there was a sudden and loud cry in the distance.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

Before Sueko could even guess what that sound was, a large ball of wooly white crashed right into her, nearly knocking her over if it wasn't for Una quickly bracing her. Behind the Wooloo though, a man jogged up. He was decently built and was wearing a green sports uniform with a leaf on the shirt. Oh! It was Milo, right?

"My... Are you ok? You took that Tackle head on..." Milo slowly trailed off as he stared at Sueko for a moment before nodding and smiling. "Oh! You must be one of those Gym Challengers, right?"

"Uh.... y-yeah, I am. I wasn't really expecting to run into you... or well be run into I guess is more correct." Sueko just stumbled through that, still caught off from being hit by a Wooloo. Milo didn't seem to mind though, just nodded and smiled, such a cheery man.

"Ahh, I thought so! I saw you at the opening ceremony." Sueko briefly winced a bit. The ceremony... it honestly wasn't even that bad but just all of that noise and the bright lights and the gym leaders... she knew she felt eyes on her but did he really recognize her or was he just saying that? "My name's Milo. I'm a Gym leader and rather partial to Grass type pokemon."

Sueko had to bite her tongue from saying something smart like 'I know, I was there during the introductions.' He was just being polite, giving an introduction and all. Sueko gave a polite nod though. "And I'm Sueko... I don't really have a pokemon type preference..." She mumbled the last bit, taking a glance at Una, a normal type, and then at Venom, a bug and poison type. Just two pokemon as well. She couldn't help but wonder just how many pokemon some of the other challengers had at this point...

Milo still smiled and nodded though, gently resting a hand on the Wooloo's head and giving it a pet which resulting in the pokemon letting out a relaxed 'beh'. He glanced at Sueko's pokemon and hummed softly to himself, his gaze lingering on Venom for a moment. "Well from the looks of it, you have some pretty strong looking pokemon. Having a Venipede for a Grass gym is a really smart move as well. But don't think that type advantage will be all you need to win. As a Gym leader, my pokemon and I will be giving it out all."

He was just so nice and cheery but... but that made Sueko gulp a bit and feel nervous. She didn't expect any of the Gym leaders to be easy, but hearing it straight from him... he wasn't going to go easy on her at all. Venom took notice of Sueko's rising nerves and began to wiggle her antennae, letting out soft vibrations from them. "Vennnnnnnn."

Milo gestured down the path, over to Turffield. "Just head on through this route, and you'll run into my stadium. See you there!" And with that, he gave a pat to the Wooloo before the pair left. Sueko stared until they were out of sight before sighing and slouched a bit.

"Bun?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine... just nervous. I mean... that's a Gym leader, he does battles for a living! And... and now I feel the pressure. I mean, you heard him! He was just so polite and nice, but also made it clear that he was strong and not a pushover with just a simple type advantage... and he said that he was gonna give it his all so... so I _have_ to do the same. But... I don't think I can..."

"Bun!" Una rested a hand on Sueko's shoulder and gave a faint squeeze, Venom looking up at Sueko from her spot in her arms, letting out a soft sound. "...Ven..."

Una directed Sueko's attention to the Galar Mines though, Venom quickly catching on to what Una was doing before she wiggled out of Sueko's hold. Venom stamped her little feet and waggled her antennae, making a bunch of noise as she tried to talk to Sueko, telling her about how well she dealt with the Rolycoly and the Corvisquire. "Ven ven, veni! Pede veni ven."

All of the noise and jittering around though made Sueko grin and soon laugh, nodding her head. She was somehow making sense of what her pokemon were talking about. "Alright alright, I get it. Thank you. I just... need a moment and I'll be fine. I'm not battling Milo right now, so I can breathe and think. Thank you... Now come on, I don't think we should be standing around in the middle of a route for too long."

Her pokemon nodded before Venom quickly scurried and climbed back up Sueko and rested on her shoulder. She liked having the high ground... despite her trainer being a bit short but hey, her trainer is WAY taller than any other Venipede and that's all that matters.

But as Sueko and Una walked down the route, getting closer to Turffield, Venom couldn't help but notice just how large the stadium was. Just how many people could fit in it? Pokemon? What sort of battles could be held there? How... how far would she get in this journey? This battle with Milo was gonna start her in finding those answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter for this one but the next one will finally bring us to our first Gym battle, against Milo!  
> In regards to Gym leaders, their pokemon, and their battles, I'm gonna try to stick to the games as much as possible but I will change some things here and there to make more sense or make things more fun. Like letting pokemon have more than 4 moves to attack with, or having certain abilities, or even adding more pokemon since none of the gym leaders have any more than 4 pokemon.


	8. Milo's Gym

Stepping inside the Turffueld Stadium, Sueko glanced around a bit and spotted several other gym challenges just chatting and mingling amongst each other. Sueko stared for a moment before continuing on and headed over to a female trainer, dressed in the Grass gym uniform, who was in front of the entrance to the actual gym. The trainer smiled and greeted Sueko, giving a half bow.

"Welcome, Gym challenger! Allow me to help you through your registration. Each gym has a different mission for challengers. Your pokemon are going to have to go back into their balls though. So would you like to attempt the Gym challenge? You can change in the changing room over there." She gestured over to a room just over to the side. 

Una was already pouting and huffing, not wanting to go back into her Pokeball, but Venom didn't care. Just gave a small nod before wiggling out of Sueko's arms and actually tapped at her own Pokeball, returning herself into it. Una dragged it out for as long as she could do, following Sueko into the changing room and making such a fuss, much to Sueko's semi-amusement, until finally Una went into her ball and Sueko was able to leave the changing room and head through the doors, entering the gym.

The gym challenge itself was rather interesting. Three sections, each one bigger than the last, and the objective was to herd a flock of twenty Wooloo to a set marker, and they would knock over the barrels of hay that blocked the pather. Rinse and repeat... while also dealing with some roaming Yampers.

Sueko glanced at the herd of Wooloo before taking a small step towards them. They didn't move. So she took another step and another step until they finally rolled away. Not very far but enough to get some distance again. She walked about, getting a feel for how they tended to move and react to her. Do they tend to split up easily? Do they regroup easily? How fast can they go? Etc. Once she was confident in her understanding she proceeded to herd them right on over to the first checkmark, and they plowed right on through the first stack of hay. One down two to go.

The next section was bigger and had a Yamper running around, which disrupted the herd and even separated them a bit. She narrowed her eyes a bit, watching the Yamper for a moment before nodding and humming. It wasn't a very fast pokemon, and while it would be chasing the herd the entire time, Sueko had much longer legs and could out pace the dog, guiding the herd where she needed them to go and leaving the Yamper behind. With the Wooloo herd at the second checkmark, and the stack of hay knocked over, that just leaves one final stage, which was also large and now had two Yampers to deal with.

The third and final section had two Yampers running around, already barking up quite the storm. Making a run for it could work but it also could leave a chance for the second Yamper to skatter the sheep pokemon about, the first one separating them even more once in range... Sueko was gonna have to time this or... or maybe... she didn't need to go through this all in one constant flow... she could take it slow, stop and keep the herd gathered up, and move on. With a soft nod she had a plan and ventured on, a big part of her wishing that she could have either Una or Venom help her... or at least to talk to. It just felt... so weird to not have Una by her side.

Sueko was a bit embarrassed by how long it took her to complete the final section though, those two Yampers really gave her some issues. But she was done. The Wooloo herd made it to the final checkmark, knocked down the hay stack, and she was at the top of the stairs in front of the large doors that would lead to the actual stadium where the gym battle would be held. She stared up at the door before turning around, glancing over at the field that held the gym challenge for her. She completed it... now it was time for the real battle.

With a deep breath, she paused before finally taking the step and walked through the doors and into a hallway. She could hear the crowd, cheering loudly, but slowly their cheers grew fainter and fainter until all she could hear was her own footsteps and her heart pounding against her chest. One of her hands was at her belt already, her fingers brushing against the pokebals that held her team. She squinted her eyes a bit once she left the hallway, the lights and sun just so bright compared to the dim hallway. There were just so many people! They yelled and cheered as Sueko and Milo walked across the battle field until the two met in the middle.

Because Milo was the first gym leader in the order he was used to seeing all kinds of trainers, especially nervous ones. So to help ease Sueko's nervousness, he didn't point it out and instead just smiled and greeted her. "My Gym’s the first one people face, so we get a lot of challengers. That’s why I try to keep the Gym mission challenging, but... that didn’t stop you from completing it, Sueko! Proper job!" He even gave her a thumbs up, and with how sincere his voice was Sueko couldn't help but smile back and nodded, muttering out a soft 'thank you.'

"Sure seems like you understand Pokémon real well. This is gonna be a doozy of a battle! I’ll have to _Dynamax_ my Pokémon if I want to win!"

...Oh no. Sueko's eyes widened a bit, some sweat forming on her forehead. Dynamaxing... that was the thing that made Galar special and why so many people loved to watch the gym battles, watching giant pokemon duke it out. But... she had no way of dynamaxing at all! Could she still win without doing so? Well she was gonna have to for this battle at least or else... With a nervous gulp she turned and began to walk away as Milo did the same. No going back from this point... its time. Before trainers grabbed a Pokeball before tossing it out, a Lopunny and a Gossifleur popping out.

Una shook her body a bit, her large fluffy ears waving about, just glad to finally be out of her Pokeball. Across from her was a grass type pokemon though with a yellow flower on its head and what looked to be red hair. Her opponent. Tilting her head a bit, Una figured that with the height difference, she could easily punt the little grass type across the field with a single kick but... this is a grass type. They can be quite tricky and even annoying with status conditions. That and with it being a gym leader's pokemon, it had to be strong. She lowered her body a little, her legs ready to spring her in any direction, while her hands balled up. Reader for battle.

"BEGIN!"

"Gossifleur, lets start things off with Rapid Spin!"

"Goss!" Gossifleur cried out before rapidly spinning like a top, some bright white lines spiraling around it. It then charged straight at Una, who easily jumped out of the way and high into the air.

"Now don't think that getting airborne will stop us from attacking. Gossifluer use Magical Leaf!"

Leaves began to rise and spin around Gossifluer before it stopped spinning, facing Una, and cried out. The leaves were surrounded by a purple glow, floating for a brief moment before launching straight at Una. Spotting the attack, Una tucked and rolled midair, trying to dodge but this is Magical Leaf and it doesn't miss, so the leaves simply changed direction and hit Una in the back, causing a small explosion cus why not.

With a cry, Una fell to the ground and bounced a bit before she quickly got back up onto her feet, her eyes narrowed and ears lifted slightly. She was mad now. Sueko was just staring though, her throat tight and mouth dry. So much had just happened in a short amount of time, and Una had to react on her own, with no directions from her trainer. This isn't how the battle should go... With a nervous gulp, Sueko tried to her speak, her voice a bit unsteady. "...U-una! Stay on the ground for this. Use Quick Attack."

With a nod, Una charged straight at Gossifleur, leaving a bright white trail behind her. Una slammed into the grass type with ease moving so fast that neither Gossifleur or Milo had a chance to react but perhaps he was prepared for this.

"Your Lopunny is quite fast. Gossifleur, lets slow them down with Leech Seed!"

Gossifleur was mostly fine after taking that hit and simply nodded before a few seeds came flying out from the flower on its head, Una struggling to dodge them until finally she was hit. The seed flowed green before sprouting open, vines and roots wrapped around Una, practically immobilizing her, before it began to sap away at her health. Little green balls of energy would escape from Una's body and float over to Gossifluer, healing it.

Una squirmed and wiggled about, but the vines just gripped her tighter and higher. Sueko watched on, not sure what to do and if there was anything she could do! But... she had to! She's the trainer, she had to think of something, anything! ...Sueko glanced at Gossifleur, who was basking in the sun as well... It and Rolycoly and used Rapin Spin so maybe...

"Una! Trying spinning in place using Quick Attack." A bit weird but its better than nothing, right? Una just stared at Sueko for a moment before nodded and struggled a bit before she started to spin, kicking the ground with her foot every so often. Thanks to the speed boost from Quick Attack, Una began to spin faster and faster, just a bright white glow surrounding her body. The vines began to rip and tear until finally Una came to stop and broke free. But she was tired, both from the spinning and from the Leech Seed draining her, causing her to slump a bit and pant, meanwhile Gossifleur looked perfectly fine, perhaps feeling even better than before the battle started.

"Nicely done, you broke free of our Leech Seed. But this battle is far from over. Gossifleur, Magical Leaf."

Not again, there was no way of dodging that! ... Or... is there? Sueko glanced at the ground as Gossifleur prepared its attack before an idea popped into her head. "Una, use Dizzy Punch on the ground!"

"Bun!" Clenching her fist, Una pulled it back far before slamming it onto the ground, causing her to wince a bit but it also broke up the ground, and Una quickly understood what Sueko wanted. Lowering her body, Una braced up against a large piece of the field and heaved it up, using it as a shield from the attack and it worked! The leaves embedded themselves into the earth, a failed attack, but that wasn't it. "Double Kick!" With a hard shove, Una forced the slab of earth up before she spun on one foot, slamming the other against the slab before spinning the other way, switching feet, and repeated the process. Sending two large chucks out towards Gossifleur, who wasn't fast enough to dodge either and was hit hard.

Not wanting to give Gossifleur a chance, nor waiting for an order, Una lept from behind the rest of the slab and sprung over to the fallen grass type before delivering a Dizzy Punch, direct hit! Gossifleur was sent flying before it crashed to the ground and skidded a bit. Its eyes were all swirled out and that was it, one down, one to go.

The ref flew over before nodded and made the call. "Gossifleur is unable to battle! Milo, send out your next pokemon." With a nod he returned his fallen pokemon, making sure to praise it for its hard work.

"We’re not going to be done in that easy! We’re tough as weeds! Eldegoss, come on out!" Just like before, he tossed out a Pokeball and this time the evolution of Gossifleur came out. It looked like a dandelion.

Sueko glanced at Una, who was slouched a bit and panting. She was clearly tired and injured... "Una, come back, you need a rest."

"Bun? ... Bun." Una questioned it at first before nodding and hopped back before taking a seat on the ground behind her trainer, glad to have a breather.

"Alright Venom... your time now." Sueko mumbled before tossing out her pokemon, Venom popping out. Once out, Venom let out a loud and battle ready hiss, her head antenna wiggling about. As a Venipede, she was both a Bug and a Poison type, meaning that Grass moves wouldn't do much at all... but that didn't mean that they could let their guard down. This is still a gym battle after all, so Milo had to have dealt with bugs and poison types before.

"Bring a Venipede to a grass gym is pretty smart, I don't see that pokemon all too often. But typing alone wont give you the win, you have to work for it! Eldegoss, show them why you're my ace, use Razor Leaf!"

"Ven!" Venom just hissed and stamped her feet, eyes narrowing, she was ready and eager. A real fight, and against an ace pokemon from a gym leader!

Eldegoss lept into the air before a pair of large and sharp looking leaves came flying out, heading straight for Venom. Venom just hunkered down and let the two leaves bounce off of her back, leaving barely a scratch on her. She shook her body before letting out a loud cry and charged, using RollOut attack. Sueko stared before shaking her head. Come on! She has to be more involved in this!

"Venipede was able to tank through one attack, but can she keep that up? Eldegoss, rapid fire Magical Leaf!"

Without hesitation, the grass type pokemon lept up again, just barely dodging Venom's attack, before it began to let out a flurry of Magical Leaf. Veno hunkered down and shut her eyes tightly, the leaves just hitting her repeatedly and causing small explosions all around her. This was gonna add up quickly. After a moment, Venom let out a large cry and hiss, gaining the attention of her trainer. Sueko was struggling to think, just lagging behind but she had to do something.

... A rapid fire attack huh? "Venom, fire back with Pin Missile then get away with RollOut!" With a nod, Venom let out a loud hiss before her head and tail antennae moved and pointed straight at Eldegoss, who was slowly floating down. The tips glowed white before multiple sharp points began to fire out, glowing a bright white and leaving behind a trail. The two attacked collided, creating smoke and explosions in mid air but slowly was moving closer and closer to Eldegoss. That is until it just floated out of the way of the attacks, but Venom had already used RollOut to make it back over to the starting area, closer to Sueko and away from Eldegoss.

Venom had a few scratches on it now, but nothing too bad, she made it out of there just fine. She shook her body a bit before crying out, stamping her feet again. She wanted more! Back to action! Fight fight fight!

"A-alright alright. I get it. Use RollOut!" Venom nodded before starting the move again. Thanks to the speed from the attack, she was able to dodge and swivel around to avoid Razor Leaf attacks and tank through Magical Leaf, but Eldegoss was just too floaty, just drifting out of the way of Venom, over and over again. That is, until Milo decided to slow things down a bit.

"Your pokemon certainly like to be fast, but its about time I stopped that. Eldegoss, Cotton Spore." Eldegoss floated over the battle field, riding the wind, while releasing spores that just slowly grew and grew into large puffy balls that fell to the ground. And sadly Venom ended up running into some of them, the cotton sticking to her body and causing a faint blue light to cover her body for a brief moment. She stopped her RollOut attack and began to hiss, shaking her body and jabbing her mouth at the cotton, trying to force it off of her.

Milo figured that now would be a good time to dynamax and to finish this battle. "Come on, then! It’s Dynamax time! You’re about to be uprooted!" He called out as he called back Eldegoss, the band around his wrist glowing. The Pokeball quickly grew in size until it was like a beachball, which Milo patted lovingly before tossing it into the air. Midair it opened up and the sky above seemed to darken as Eldegoss came out, growing as well until it was a giant and let out a loud cry. So loud and Una and Sueko covered their ears. Una stared up in awe, grasping onto Sueko's shoulder and shook her.

"Bun!"

"Yes, I can see it too! We cant dyanamax though!" Sueko pointed out to her pokemon, while Venom just looked shocked at the now giant pokemon. She stared before hissing and stamping her feet, scraping them against the ground as well. She wasn't backing down! Bring it on!

"This’ll really leave you in shock and awe. It’s our Dynamax move, Max Overgrowth!" Milo called out. A ball of light formed in front of Eldegoss before five very large seeds fired out around Venom, trapping her in the middle of the attack.

In a panic, Sueko just yelled out 'Poison Sting', her mind fizzling, and that was such a bad call. The seeds quickly grew into large grass and giant mushrooms, and once the poison sting hit them, it all exploded, sending Venom flying through the air and then crashing to the ground, skidding across it for a bit. "Venom!" Sueko cried out, Una jumping up in shock and crying out as well.

Venom was on her stomach, eyes closed, but she hadn't fainted yet. Slowly, a yellow-ish green color began to surround Venom, glowing faintly and acting almost like fire at the top, wisping about. Venom slowly stood up onto her feet again and opened her eyes, her pupils smaller slits now. Swarm had activated.

And while Eldegoss was still dynamaxed and Venom had her speed reduced, she didn't care. She was gonna give it her all! With a loud battle cry, Venom stamped her feet before sending a look over to her trainer. Yes, she was mad at the goof-up, but there was still time to fix it and to win the fight. With a nod, Sueko sighed softly and understood. Now... more than ever in this battle, Venom needed her.

"Alright girl, we're still in this. Use Pin Missile!" Briefly, Venom's eye's glowed before she fired out her attack, the missiles much bigger this time. Eldegoss shifted back slightly, wincing as missile after missile hit but that wasn't going to be enough to do it in. It let out a loud cry that briefly stopped the attack and forced Venom to hunker down, planting her many feet into the ground to prevent her from flying out.

"I'm impressed that your Venipede was able to take a direct hit from Eldegoss, but can she do it again? Max Overgrowth!"

This time, Sueko had a plan. "Venom, curl up and wait. Please... trust me on this." Venom was reluctant but did so, curling herself up into a tight ball. Again the giant seeds surrounded her but that was when Sueko gave the order and Venom quickly jumped atop of on, right before it sprouted into a giant mushroom and launched her into the air and straight at Eldegoss, as well as avoiding the explosion from the max attack.

"Pin Missile!"

"VENI!" Now at close range, Venom unleashed a powerful Pin Missile attack, causing Eldegoss to cry out until there was a large explosion and Eldegoss began to shrink. Once back to normal size it slumped onto the ground, its eyes all swirly too. While that happened though, Venom was falling from the sky, which Sueko and Una immediately ran over and tried to catch over, arms out and moving about until the nearly 12 pound (5.3 kg) bug pokemon landed in Sueko's arms, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall back onto the ground with an 'oof'. Well... at least she caught her pokemon safely.

Again the ref flew over and checked Eldegoss before calling it. "Eldegoss is unable to battle, Sueko and her pokemon are the winners of this gym battle!" The crowd just cheered and screamed, stunning Sueko as she just blinked dumbly. They won? ... Wow. Her mind was just lagging behind hard as Una tried to pull Sueko back up onto her feet.

Milo just sighed and shook his head a bit, smiling softly. "The power of Grass has wilted... What an incredible Gym Challenger." He hummed before walking over to Sueko, holding a hand out. Sueko stared for a moment before accepting it. Milo just pulled her up with ease, startling Sueko and Venom a bit. "You know, we met like this. I hope that was a fulfilling Pokémon battle for you."

Sueko just blushed a little, feeling a tad embarrassed with how she battled. Yes they had won in the end but... so much of it was just her pokemon doing their own because Sueko couldn't spit out commands fast enough. "I uh... yeah. It certainly was something..." She trailed off a bit. Milo's smile slowly turned into a thin straight line before it returned and offered his hand for her to shake, which she accepted as well.

"As proof that you have defeated a Gym Leader for the Gym Challenge, allow me to present you with your very own Grass Badge! You need to obtain all eight Gym Badges in order to complete the Gym Challenge. And the only way to gather the Badges is to defeat every Gym Leader. Some advice for you, Sueko. The Gym Challenge has a set order you’ll need to follow. So that means your next stop should be in Hulbury to meet Nessa. Hulbury’s just beyond Route 5." Milo handed Sueko his gym badge before leaning in a bit and adding in a bit more advice, but as a whisper so the cameras wouldn't catch it. "And you did a good job. You'll get better, you just need practice and time, I'm sure of it."

That last bit stunned Sueko a bit, making her eyes widen and she froze just briefly before nodding. She accepted the badge and attacked it to the ring she was given. "I... thank you, Milo."

"Not a problem! Now good luck with your future challenges. You have strong pokemon on your side, they'll only get stronger the further you go. Lets hope you do the same." He gave a gentle pat to both Venom and Una before waving them off. The gym challenge was over for now, time for him to heal up his pokemon and prepare for the next one. With a soft sigh, Sueko turned and left as well, needing to get her team healed up.

Her thoughts were racing and fingers were tingling, the crowd's cheers still echoing in her ears despite being out of the stadium. That was... a lot... Nessa is next though, a water type gym and... and she was gonna need to train more and perhaps get another member to her team for that battle. But for now, maybe getting some food to celebrate their first victory would be a good idea.


	9. The Hunt for a New Member

"...That was... certainly something." Sueko groaned, running her hands through her hair. Back in another little cafe while Una and Venom were happily digging into their well deserved and earned treat. The two were all healed up already, thanks to Nurse Joy, but Sueko still couldn't get the battle out of her head. All of the misplays, the lack of direction she gave her pokemon, the unnecessary damage they took because of it. And to make it all worse, all of the TVs in the cafe were currently playing the battles, so she was stuck either watching or listening to how better trainers did their first gym battle.

She did at least watch Gloria's battle though, purposely ignoring it just felt... so rude especially with how nice the young trainer has been to Sueko. It honestly wasn't a very long battle at all, but Sueko could just tell that Gloria had a lot of potential of becoming a really good trainer... possibly even having a chance against Leon. There was just this fire in her eyes, spitting out directions and orders quick but not in a panicked rush. Reacting quickly to Milo's attacks and making him react as well. It didn't have the same weight as the battle of Leon against Raihan, but there were certainly sparks of it.

Now... how could she do that for herself? Sueko stared at the screen for a bit before just sighing and shaking her head, hanging it a bit. She had won the battle and yet... she didn't feel like a victor. Just... meh.

Una frowned a bit before reaching over and placed a hand on her trainer's shoulder, giving it a faint squeeze. "Bun..."

Venom scurried atop the table and nudged against Sueko, waggling her head antennae. Yes, she was annoyed earlier about the blunder but... this was their first major battle, mistakes were going to happen and in the end, everyone is fine. They even won! So... why so blue.

Sueko did crack a smile though, rubbing a hand on Venom's head while the other rested atop of Una's hand. "I... thank you. I just... I just feel like I should have done so much better than that and... and we did win but... no, we didn't win. You guys did. I just blundered my way through that. I mean, half of the time you guys did your own things cus I couldn't spit anything out, just standing there and staring. If we're going to get any further then I really need to step things up... and we also need another team member."

Una gave a nod but Venom just tilted her head, a little unsure about getting another member so soon. Yes, she understood that no matter how strong a pokemon is, one alone cant win every battle. Having more helps, especially with type weaknesses.

"Nessa is the next gym leader, a water type one. With Milo and his grass types, we had a double resistance typing and super effective moves with Venom, but with water types, we have neither, but so do they... well kind of... I don't know her exact team, but I do know that her ace is a Dradnaw. A water and rock type so... that's going to be tough. So we need to get another team member. Once we finish up in here, we need to head out and start looking... as well as training. I need to get better because the battles are only going to get tougher and tougher. And... as your trainer, I cant just hang back and not even try to help and give directions. I'm going to do better, I promise."

\-------------------------

After enjoying the rest of their treat they left the cafe and ventured to Route 5, just east of Turffield. The route had a bit of a split path, going straight led to a daycare and then a bridge, while the split led down a slope that curved around a little pond before it climbed back up and joined with the first path. With both Una and Venom out of their balls, the three split up and began to search around for a pokemon to either battle and train on, or to catch and add to the team.

While the immediate area wasn't all that large, the trio still ran into several pokemon. Sueko found a Stufful, which was just so adorable that she couldn't help but just reach out and attempt to pet it, only to have to jolt away from the flailing limbs. Lesson learned, don't randomly pet a Stufful. After getting some distance from the flailing cute pokemon, Sueko started searching again and found a Minccino hidden in the grass, using its tail to brush away some dust and dirt off of its body. Before Sueko could even make the mistake of reaching out and touching the pokemon, Minccino had already spotted Sueko and let out a sudden Echoed Voice attack, causing the trainer to quickly cover her ears and make a run for it. Ok ok ok, time for a break and maybe to regroup up.

Una was having mixed results as well. She stumbled upon a Farfetch'd that was training, swinging its large leek like a sword. Once it spotted Una, it let out a cry before charging with a Brutal Swing attack. Una leaped above the attacking pokemon, dodging the attack before delivering her own, a quick Double Kick. Farfetch'd fell to the ground but quickly got back up, leek tight in its grip and a rather angry look on its face. Oh, it was on! The two battled for a bit... or well more like Una would simply jump out of range of Farfetch'ds attacks before striking back until finally Una slipped up and took a direct hit, a savage Brutal Swing attack straight to her chest, which sent her right against a tree. Satisfied with itself, the Farfetch'd nodded and huffed before walking away.

Venom first found a Drifloon that tried to carry away, startling the poor bug type before she let out a flurry of Poison Sting attacks to make it drop her... only to land right atop of a floating Swirlix, who cried out before letting loose a Fairy Wind attack. The wind flung Venom off and sent her flying and spiraling a bit before she landed on the ground, her vision spinning. By the time the world stopped spinning around her, there was a new pokemon in front of her, a Wobbuffet. Venom quickly got on her feet and hissed, waggling her antennae, but the Wobbeffet didn't seem to either notice or care. This didn't sit right with Venom, so she used Rollout, hitting Wobbuffet who leaned back from the blow, like a punching bag, only to come back just as hard and smacked Venom. Getting back up, Venom stamped her feet before trying again and again and again, getting smacked back each and every time until eventually, Una and Sueko found her and had to pull her away from the blue pokemon.

\-----------------

An hour had passed but they had nothing to show for it. Just two pokemon and a trainer a bit battered and worse for wear, and no new team member. A small little camp was set up for them, Una and Venom munching on some oran berries to heal up, while Sueko groaned and dragged a hand over her face. This was not going well, _at all!_ And even worse the sun was starting to set as well. Sitting on the grass, Sueko sighed and glanced up at the changing sky, filled with various shades of reds, orange, yellow, and even some purples.

"... _Chi chi_..."

... That got the attention of all three of them, Una and Sueko swiveling their heads about while Venom sprung up onto her feet and scittered about. That was a pokemon for sure but... where?

"Bun." Una whispered, grasping Sueko's shoulder and pointing at the pond behind them. In the water were two yellow lights. Slowly the lights got larger and bright until two yellow bulbs appeared out of the water, connected to a pair of blue antennae. A round blue body followed shortly after that held large yellow eyes with pupils shaped like plus signs. The pokemon blinked at Sueko and Una for a moment, but once Venom appeared, hissing, it let out a startled cry before diving back into the small pond.

"Chi! chi chi..."

"H-hey! Dont go... darn..."

"...Ven?"

"...Its ok Venom. After all of the bad luck we had today, I don't blame you for thinking that it was going to attack... but... but what is a Chinchou doing here?" Sueko glanced around and the closest water source was a river that was a good ways away... so how did a Chinchou get here of all places... and in such a small pond as well?

"Bun? ... Bun." Una noticed as well, slowly standing up as she started to walk around the pond. It wasn't very large, nor did it look deep either. This was not a normal environment for a pokemon like a Chinchou. Though not very clearly, Una could still see where Chinchou was in the water thanks to its glowing bulbs, but how to get it to come back up to the surface?

Well Venom already had an idea. While the other two were busy thinking and wandering about, Venom had climbed up a nearby berry tree, hissed at a Skwovet before grabbing a twig that had a few Pecha berries on, and climbed back down and over to the edge of the pond. Venom hit the surface of the water a few times. The twig had three berries on it, one of them fell off and slowly sank in the water. By now, Sueko and Una noticed what Venom was doing and walked over, and Sueko gently took the twig out of her mouth.

"Easy now. This is a great idea, Venom. I'm honestly worried about how this Chinchou is doing... stuck in a pond like this." After a moment, she removed a berry and tossed it into the water. Slowly, the lights grew bright until, again, the Chinchou broke the surface of the water. But this time, Venom hung back and Sueko held out the last berry for the pokemon to have.

"..Chi?"

"Its all yours. Go on, take it."

"Bun!"

"...Chi? Chi!" The Chinchou gave a bright smile before happily eating the berry. As it ate though, Sueko took a closer look at the pokemon. She wasn't an expert on this pokemon for obvious reasons but... it looked off... Like its colors seemed a bit faded? The bulbs didn't glow all that bright either, slightly dim...

"Chinchou... how'd you get here of all places?"

Chinchou paused in his eating before pulling back slightly, swimming away from the edge of the pond. His antennae drooped a bit and he sank in the water, letting the water cover most of his body and face.

"H-hey! Its ok, its ok. You don't have to talk about it. I'm just... worried. You... you don't look so good."

"Bun bun!"

"... Ven... veni!" Even Venom and Una piped in, though Venom kept a bit away as she didn't want to scare the pokemon away again.

"There's a pokemon center near by, just up the route. We can take you there and get you checked over... And after that, we can find you a much better place for you. I mean... there's a pretty big lake in the Wild Areas, just outside of Motostoke... Please Chinchou, you... you wont get any better staying here." Sueko tried her best to reason with the pokemon, crouching down now and reaching her hand out but made no move to touch or grab, just... held it out.

Venom lingered for a moment before leaving again, going right back up that tree, causing the leaves to rustle before she came back, this time with an Oran berry. It wasn't much but... it was something. She dropped it into the water and nudged it with her head, letting it slowly float over to Chinchou.

Chinchou stared at both the berry and Sueko's hand before slowly inched closer. He ate the berry while letting one of his antennae rest atop of her palm. Slowly, Sueko urged and encouraged the water type to get closer until she was able to pull him out of the water and held him in her arms, Oran berry still being eaten. Una quickly grabbed a blanket from Sueko's bag and got it soaked in water before handing it to Sueko, who wrapped it around Chinchou.

"Alright, thank you Chinchou. I promise, you'll be ok. Venom, Una, lets go." Sueko adjusted Chinchou a bit before she left the area and headed right back to Turffield. Thankfully they hadn't gone far, so it was a relatively short walk.

\-----------------------

After dropping off the Chinchou at the pokecenter, Sueko couldn't just leave without getting some sort of update. Una and Venom sat with Sueko in the pokecenter, Una beside her and Venom on her lap. Some time had passed before a familiar face popped up, and it wasn't Nurse Joy of the Chinchou, not yet at least. Venom actually noticed between the other two did, perking her head up and wiggling her head antenna at the person.

"Ven!"

"My, that's certainly the greeting."

"Milo?" Sure enough, it was Milo, wearing a dark brown jacket atop his gym uniform. He gave a smile and nod to Venom before directing his attention to Sueko.

"Sueko! Its good to see you... though I thought you already left Turffield and made it to Hulbury by now." He noted, scratching his cheek a bit.

"...Hehe, funny story about that..." Sueko mumbled, shifting a bit in her seat before clearing her throat and trying to shift the conversation. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh! Thats easy. At the end of the day, once the last gym challenger of the day is gone, I take my team to the center to get a proper look over and make sure they're in good proper condition for the next day. They're strong pokemon but even the strongest can be worn down after several consecutive battles." Milo explained as he dropped off his pokemon to Nurse Joy before joining Sueko, sitting right beside her. "But what happened? Both of your pokemon look fine..."

"Yeah, um... we tried searching for a new teammate out on Route 5, didn't go as planned." Sueko briefly mentioned a few things that happened to her and her pokemon, before continuing on. "And we ended up finding a pokemon that... really shouldn't have been there. A Chinchou. He didn't look so great, so we managed to get him out of that pond and took him here." She explained, gesturing a bit with her hands.

That caught Milo off guard though, which was rather evident on his face as he gave a look of confusion and even shock. "A Chinchou out there? No way that pond is suitable for a pokemon like that!" But then he paused in thought. A Chinchou... that sounded familiar to him. His arms crossed a bit as a frown started to form. "Hmmm, I really hope this isn't the same one, but a while ago, I had a challenger that used a Chinchou. They challenged me many many times before finally winning, though I didn't see the Chinchou during that last battle."

"Oh dear..." Sueko mumbled, her heart sinking. Granted, neither of them knew for sure if this was the same Chinchou but... some far it was starting to point in that direction. Una and Venom were thinking the same, a frown clear on Una's face as her ears sagged, while Venom was nearly vibrating as she held in a hiss. Sueko gently patted Venom's head to help calm her.

It was then that Nurse Joy walked over with the Chinchou on a cart, looking much better. His colors were no longer pale or muted, and he even looked happier... well until he saw Milo and seemed to just deflate. His antennae sagged and he shifted a bit, glancing away from the gym leader. And that reaction was not very promising.

Milo noticed it and his frown grew before he mumbled something under his breath. He stared at the Chinchou before letting out a sigh and directed his attention back to Sueko. "I think it would be best if you take Chinchou to Hulbury. Its a much closer journey than going all the way to the Wild Areas outside of Motostoke."

Sueko gently moved Venom off of her lap so she could stand up, giving Milo a nod. "Alright." Venom climbed up onto her shoulder in the meantime. Sueko didn't just pick up Chinchou though, she stood before him and held her hands out. "Its up to you ultimately though. If you come with us, we can take you to the sea."

"Bun bun!" Una pipped in, her ears perking a bit but she didn't reach out towards the water type, despite the fact that she really wants to just squeeze him into the tightest hug possible.

There was a long pause before the Chinchou waddled close to Sueko and allowed to pick him up and hold him. "... Chi." He didn't sound all that happy but the sea did sound so much nicer than that little pond.

"Alright, to Hulbury we go."

"Bun!"

"Ven!"

"Oh and Sueko, when you get there, say 'hi' to Nessa for me. Good luck on your battle with her, she'll be a real tough opponent, trust me." Milo patted Sueko's shoulder, nearly knocking Venom off by accident, who quickly scurried over to the other shoulder and hissed at him. Milo just grinned and held up his hands defensively. "Sorry about that."

"Its alright. Thank you, Milo."


End file.
